Missouri refused to let Texas A&M beat Tigers twice: Are they back in the CFP hunt?

After their College Football Playoff hopes took a huge hit with a humbling loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 5, Missouri bounced back with a blowout win of their own on Saturday. Although beating UMass 45-3 does not move the needle at all, it does tell me that Missouri is not just going to keel over and die after the Aggies completely embarrassed them two weeks ago.

They were not going to beat twice by Texas A&M, and that shows a refined sense of focus for a Missouri team that may have gotten a big head over the last two years or so. Eliah Drinkwitz was everyone's second favorite head coach. He was the goofy Alpha Nerd, sporting a visor, playing air guitar and being so overly enthusiastic about everything. Drinkwitz is not for everyone, but he is good for Mizzou and good for college football. They need to be good.

But as far as whether the Tigers are back in the College Football Playoff hunt? I guess so; I'm not going to canvas for them, but if the Tigers win out, they will definitely be in the playoff at 11-1 (7-1 in the rugged SEC). Unfortunately, with how weak their remaining schedule is, their margin for error is just about gone, and they cannot afford to lose to Alabama. They need to beat the Crimson Tide to ensure themselves of at least one quality victory.

At 10-2 (6-2), but with a win over Alabama, even that cuts it dangerously close for the 2024 Mizzou Tigers.

Missouri got back on track with a big win, but are Tigers a CFP contender?

Right now, I have the Tigers as a College Football Playoff bubble team, but on the wrong side of it. I had them in a group with Ole Miss and Oklahoma, teams whose bubbles are about to pop. They are looking up in the SEC playoff hierarchy at borderline teams like LSU, Texas A&M and Tennessee, but ahead of two fun teams who will not make it like Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

Missouri was not one of my first four teams out of the College Football Playoff bracket this week. Admittedly, the Tigers were not even close to being in the mix to be my fourth team out. I was more comfortable with having Texas A&M, BYU, Tennessee and Indiana as the first four teams out over them.

Overall, it would be foolish to cross Mizzou off entirely, but we don't need to invest a ton of stock in putting the Tigers into the pool of teams that are serious playoff contenders. The good news is they have a soft schedule in front of them. Again, I need to see them win out, and more importantly, beat Alabama on their quest to winning 10 or more games. 11 wins gets them in, but 10 probably doesn't.

Not being at least one of the first four teams out must be seen as a sign of failure for this year's team considering all the talent they had coming back to Columbia.